Time Stopped For Him Then
by taichi rules
Summary: Ken reflects upon his brother's tragic death...


Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

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Revised July 2008.

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Time Stopped For Him Then

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When you're a little kid and you have a bad nightmare, you can always count on a loved one to come to your side to comfort you and make you feel better. But when that beloved person is gone forever from your life, everything just seems hopeless and the nightmare you're suffering from morphs into a twisted reality…a reality that will probably never again change for the better. –

I waited patiently at the corner of my elementary school building, just outside the entrance gate, for my older brother to exit his last class session on the other side of the campus and walk home with me. I wondered what was keeping him. Perhaps a classmate was asking him for homework help? Or maybe the teacher wanted to praise him some more before letting him go home for the day? Or could it be that he was purposely arriving late to demonstrate that he was still mad at me?

My mind recalled what had happened the night before. Osamu found me in his room, toying with a strange digital device. I knew I wasn't supposed to touch any of his things without asking for his permission first, but my curiosity got the better of me. He stormed over to where I was squatting and angrily slapped the device out of my hand. The slap hurt, but what hurt even more was the fact that he hit me over a stupid gadget. Tears welled up as I stared miserably at him… A regretful expression quickly replaced the angry look in his eyes. Then he opened his mouth to say something, but I chose not to listen and dashed out of his room. "I hate you!" I cried. I didn't speak to him again for the rest of the night.

More than a half-hour had passed since the last school bell rang. Osamu was still nowhere in sight. 'I don't want him to be mad at me anymore,' I thought. 'I want to make up with him and play with him again. I want him to show me how to blow bubbles again.' After about ten more minutes of waiting, I sat down on the pavement. I sighed heavily and stared at the ground. In spite of the bright afternoon sunshine, my shadow appeared unusually faint. The sight was unnerving and gave me an ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I jumped onto my feet and made a mad dash to the other side of the campus. 'Where are you, Osamu? I want to go home now!'

When I got to the other side, I saw yellow tape strewn about, red lights flashing, and a large crowd of people. Many of them were police officers and teachers. Everyone looked gravely serious. 'What's going on…?' I wondered, but was terrified to find out. My arms and legs felt cold and clammy.

Among the crowd, I caught sight of the back of a tall, lean boy with spikey hair. "Osamu!" I cried with relief as I ran towards him. However, when the boy turned around, I realized that I had mistaken him for my brother. This older boy stared at me wordlessly, a strange expression etched into his face.

He wasn't the only one who was giving me that unnerving look. The other people standing close by were also staring down at me with contorted expressions. "It's the younger Ichijouji brother," I heard one woman whisper. I felt extremely uneasy. What was going on? Was I in trouble for something?

I averted my eyes and looked past them toward the distance.

I momentarily stopped breathing then.

I could feel blood draining away from my face.

I wanted to back away…

The scene before my eyes was the most sickening, heart-wrenching thing I had ever encountered in my life.

Against my will, my legs took on a life of their own and leaped into a hysterical run towards a broken body lying in a pool of blood and glass in the middle of the street.

A heartbroken wail escaped from my chest as I skidded to a halt and dropped onto the ground next to my brother's lifeless body.

A police officer grabbed me from behind, but I vehemently refused to let go of my brother's hands.

"LET GO OF ME! PUT ME DOWN! LET GO! LET GO!" I shrieked and thrashed wildly. In the end, it took three officers to wrench me away. "You shouldn't be here…" one of them said softly. As I was helplessly carried away, I saw—through my cloudy tears—a fourth officer gently laying a white sheet over my brother's lifeless body.

Heavy tears continued to stream down my cheeks and sob-hiccups erupted from chest every few minutes, as I sat alone in the backseat of a police vehicle, turning over a tiny golden gadget in my hands. I had grabbed it from Osamu's right hand before the officers pulled me away.

Its needle-like hands had ceased ticking since the half-hour after the last school bell rang.

Time stopped for him then.

A strange little noise escaped from my chest.

I turned over the broken watch again and gently rubbed the engraving on the back.

"Ken, I don't always show it, but I really do love you. You're the best brother in the world! –Osamu."

I sighed heavily. Tears were still trickling down my face. Knowing Osamu, he was most likely feeling miserable and guilty about the night before. That was probably why he got me this "apology present." What if I had made up with him the night before? Perhaps that would have made all the difference in the world and he would still be alive…

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I've been alone all evening, curled up in the corner of my room with all the lights turned off. I can still hear my mother and father sobbing in the next room. I can't stop crying or thinking about him either. If only this was just a bad nightmare…so that I'll eventually wake up to a normal day tomorrow…and Osamu will be blowing bubbles with me again…

I love you, Osamu… You're the one who's the best brother in the world…

Twice as many teardrops are spilling out of my eyes. I just can't help myself.

I miss you, Osamu…

When you're a little kid and you have a bad nightmare, you can always count on a loved one to come to your side to comfort you and make you feel better. I thought this would always true for me. But now that Osamu is gone forever from my life, everything just seems hopeless and my nightmare has morphed into a twisted reality…a reality that will probably never again change for the better.


End file.
